“Miracle” at the PalaSojourner in Rieti: Pallacanestro Trieste at the last useful attempt wins the first direct clash away from home (the last success away from Valmaura was on 10 December in Nardò), that is, against one of the best of the two groups. A result that allows them to finish in fifth place after the clock phase, possibly avoiding Trapani and meeting former coach Franco Ciani’s Torino in the first round of the play-offs (starting in Piedmont on 5 May). If a defeat had instead occurred in Lazio they would have slipped to seventh place given the concomitant victories of Rimini and Cividale with the ducals thus closing this second phase of the tournament with full points and which will be in the draw with Trieste itself and with Udine. In short, you could see some beautiful ones.
Let’s focus on the play-off discussion since the grid has now been drawn up. In the draw involving Jamion Christian’s boys, top seed Forlì will face Vigevano, Udine against Cremona, Trieste against Turin and Cividale against Cantù. In case of passing the round for Trieste there will be the winner of Forlì-Vigevano. And then in a possible final it would naturally clash with one of the other four.
On the other board, out of curiosity, these are the challenges: Trapani-Piacenza, Rieti-Rimini, Verona-Milan, Bologna-Treviglio.
It was a race in which Trieste was always ahead, with the exception of the early stages, managing to keep Rieti at bay both when it was even a length behind and when it was very far away. Even though at the end they saw their lead of around twenty points almost completely eaten away, but by then the result was still in the safe. This time his shooting from beyond the arc was excellent: 14/28. Numbers which however were very similar on both fronts, Trieste won by scoring one bomb and one basket more than their opponents.
Taking a look at the statistics, Ruzzier’s 24 points and Filloy’s 17, Deangeli’s 12 and Vildera’s 10, as well as a contribution from Ferrero, suggest that if these were the standards in the play-offs, a little thought to watch at the top you could really do it.
Vildera returns, Candussi sits in the stands due to the rule of eight seniors on the pitch. And Campogrande will never get up from the bench.
Trieste starts well, two consecutive triples (Ruzzier and Reyes) give the score 7-14. Filloy and Bossi also entered the three-point match: 13-20. First half with the Halberds ahead by seven points.
Pallacanestro Trieste also holds up well in the second quarter. Vildera’s ninth point makes it 18-26. Ferrero from beyond the arc: 20-29. Bombs in sequence for Ruzzier, Nobile and Filloy: 27-37. Two plus one from Deangeli: 30-42. Triple by the Italian and then Ruzzier scores from inside the area: 33-44 and the teams like this at half time.
At the beginning of the third quarter Rieti gets closer with triples from Italiano and Nobile interspersed with one from Ferrero: 42-49. Johnson also from 6.75: 47-51. Long range again: Nobile, Filloy and Petrovic: 55-56. At the end of the half, Trieste once again took a few points away: 56-63 at the last break.
At the start of the last quarter, Italian tries to close the ball from beyond the arc but makes a mistake, while from the other side he scores in the same way as Filloy. Deangeli on target and then Bossi from three: 56-71. Trieste has the inertia in his favor. Triple by Ruzzier: 58-77. Bomb also for Brooks: 60-82. In the final, Rieti comes closer with two triples from Johnson: 78-87 with 1’24” left. Ruzzier on the line at minus 1’12”: 78-89. Two free throws for Johnson with 56 seconds left: 80-89. Trieste loses the ball on the throw-in. Hogue from below: 82-89 at minus 50″. Ruzzier closes it on entry: 82-91. He finishes 87-92.
The scoreboard.
RIETI 87
TRIESTE 92
(13-20; 20-24; 23-19; 31-29)
REAL SEBASTIANI RIETI: Johnson, Nobile, Poom, Italiano, Raucci, Sarto, Petrovic, Hogue, Sanguinetti, Piccin, Spanghero. Coach Rossi.
TRIESTE BASKETBALL: Ruzzier 24, Ferrero 6, Filloy 17, Brooks 5, Deangeli 12, Campogrande ne, Menalo 2, Reyes 9, Bossi 7, Vildera 10. All. Christian.
Note.
2-point shots: Rieti 15/33, Trieste 16/29
3-point shots: Rieti 13/28, Trieste 14/28
Free throws: Rieti 18/23, Trieste 18/23
Rebounds: Rieti 35, Trieste 31
Tags: Pallacanestro Trieste miraculously performed Rieti finishing Franco Cianis Torino playoffs
